On first view, with people milling around at Haleiwa Boat Harbor with tent, tables, chairs; others pulling the flesh of tender turkey's back at St. Michael's cooked Pohnpei uhmw style; still others driving between the two sites with urns of hot water for the chaffing dishes, it looked like a mesh of confused action. Yet from this mix of chaos and activity, emerged a wonderful meal for the residents (Homeless) of Haleiwa Boat Harbor and Kaiaka beach park.There was a sense of joy and purpose as parishioners (under the guide of Irma and Trudy) embarked on the 'breaking bread' with the homeless, and, Mary Jane and the youth organized and distributed the goodies for the kids and hygiene packages for the adults. With a quick run to Kaiaka beach park to deliver food and Easter baskets to the residents the day was over. What had been planned for a couple of months as being the kick-off for the parish Social Justice Outreach, was done!



As I was watching everything unfold before me with the large number of parish volunteers and the eventual response from the residents, I was filled with a feeling of humility. The phrase people used the most before and after they ate was , "thank you". Upon receiving their basket of goodies for their children (one mom and dad have 7 kids living in a couple of vans) was again"thank you". One of our parishioners mentioned that there is no other place that they would rather be on Easter than here - feeding our homeless sisters and brothers. He thanked the residents for allowing us to be with them. It kind of brought home and made 'real' the Easter Season - giving gratitude and thanks to God the Father for ALL He has done and continues to do through the suffering, death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus. This is the beginning of once a month effort by the parish to respond to those in need. I am so thankful for Irma, Trudy, Mary Jane, and for each one of you the parishioners who cooked, set up, served, cleaned up and who gave of your time with joy and gratitude. Echoing the sentiments of that parishioner - I thank the residents of Haleiwa and Kaiaka - for allowing us to be a part of their Easter. I pray that we have many more monthly moments of chaos!

Tags: Holy Week, Social Justice

To live out the Gospel message of Jesus. Luke 4:18-19
This was the opening to Carol Ignacio’s speech, the keynote speaker of the St. Michael’s Social Justice meeting on thuesday 3/24. The only way we can call ourselves catholic, is by taking care of the homeless and seeing Jesus in them. Carol humbly shared about her personal encounters with the homeless people in Hawaii and said “helping and nurturing for these many homeless people has brought me face to face with God”

One thing that surprised me the most was witnessing her enthusiastic characteristic and bold knowledge of social ministry. She also admits on having the most kinkiest hair among all of us in the room. Overall the speech by Carol Ignacio was a great informative awareness speech that has soften our hearts to be more loving and caring to human-kind . Even-though it takes a lot of work in making social ministry happen at St. Michael - all we need to do it pray. She closed her speech with the sayings “Jesus’s death was not a simple one, if you continue putting homelessness a priority through good friday, there will be many happy easter sunday.

In 2007, there were 6,000 people counted as homeless. 37% were Hawaiian.
Most of the children are 5 years of age and lower.

“The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners . . .” (Isaiah 61)

Our Mission:

To meet the challenges of the ever-changing communities by utilizing spiritual, human and material resources to empower those we encounter to experience dignity and respect.
Our belief in the sanctity of human life and the inherent dignity of the human person is the foundation of all our services. We believe every person is precious and that people are more important than things. The purpose of the Office for Social Ministry is to enhance lives and promote the dignity of every human being.

Our Goals:

To strive to live out our mission through the four-sided model of action:

• Direct Services:
  OSM addresses immediate crisis needs of all persons without distinction and provides services to sustain the dignity of all people.Justice Education:
  OSM educates people and institutions on issues that affect the poor, powerless and marginalized. We strive to address the root causes of social problems, promoting systemic change by influencing public policy and legislative initiatives.Advocacy:
  OSM empowers people to organize and advocate for themselves and others toward a just society, promoting self-determination for all.
  Community Development:
  OSM seeks partnerships with parishes and other groups to help mobilize and build stronger, more self-reliant communities.

Big Island Carol Ignacio Diocesan Director, OSM Executive Director, OSM, Big Island Branch 140-B Holomua Street Hilo, HI 96720 Phone: (808) 935-3050 Fax: (808) 935-3794 email: Carol Ignacio

Tags: Social Justice, St. Michael